On September 17, 2025, HUD withdrew the two documents — FHEO Notice 2013-01 and FHEO Notice 2020-01 — that told you, for a decade, how to evaluate assistance animal requests. The Fair Housing Act is still federal law. Your obligations haven't vanished. This is your 2026 operating manual: clean, practical, and court-tested. El 17 de septiembre de 2025, HUD retiró los dos documentos que te decían cómo evaluar solicitudes de animales de asistencia. La FHA sigue siendo ley federal. Tus obligaciones no desaparecieron. Este es tu manual operativo 2026.
On September 17, 2025, HUD issued a memorandum to its Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity staff implementing Executive Orders 14192 and 14219. The memo withdrew dozens of guidance documents across multiple topics. Two of them matter directly for your assistance animal decisions:El 17 de septiembre de 2025, HUD emitió un memorándum implementando las Órdenes Ejecutivas 14192 y 14219. El memorándum retiró docenas de documentos de guía. Dos importan para animales de asistencia:
Both documents are no longer on HUD's website. HUD's official position is that they "should not be utilized moving forward" — but the memo explicitly says this withdrawal is "not necessarily final." Until HUD issues new guidance, the field is operating without a federal playbook.Ambos documentos ya no están en el sitio de HUD. La posición oficial es que "no deben utilizarse". Pero el memorándum explícitamente dice que esta retirada "no es necesariamente final".
You can no longer cite FHEO-2020-01's "best practices" as a defense if a tenant files a complaint. What the statute and case law say is what matters now — and both still require you to engage with every reasonable accommodation request in good faith.Ya no puedes citar las "mejores prácticas" de FHEO-2020-01 como defensa. Lo que dicen el estatuto y la jurisprudencia es lo que importa.
This is important and worth saying clearly: the Fair Housing Act itself is untouched. 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601–3619, with its implementing regulations at 24 C.F.R. § 100, all remain in force. That means:Esto es importante: la Ley de Vivienda Justa no se tocó. 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601–3619, con sus regulaciones en 24 C.F.R. § 100, siguen vigentes. Eso significa:
Your legal exposure for denying a valid request has not decreased. It's arguably increased, because there's no federal cheat sheet to fall back on as "good faith" evidence.Tu exposición legal no ha disminuido. Podría decirse que aumentó, porque ya no hay guía federal para justificar "buena fe".
The FHA's umbrella term. Covers both Service Animals and Support Animals. Any reasonable species. May or may not have formal training. This is the term your policy should use.El término paraguas de la FHA. Cubre Animales de Servicio y de Apoyo. Cualquier especie razonable. Este es el término que tu política debe usar.
Under the ADA, a dog (or miniature horse) individually trained to perform specific tasks for a disability. When a dog is obviously a service dog — for example, a visibly trained guide dog with a handler using a white cane — you may not ask for documentation. When it's not obvious, you may ask two and only two questions: (1) is the dog required because of a disability? (2) what work or task has it been trained to perform?Bajo ADA, un perro entrenado para tareas específicas por una discapacidad.
An animal whose presence provides therapeutic benefit for a person with a mental or emotional disability. No training required under federal law. Protected only in housing under the FHA — not in restaurants, not on airplanes. The FHA covers these exactly the same way it covers Service Animals in the housing context.Un animal cuya presencia brinda beneficio terapéutico. Sin entrenamiento requerido. Protegido solo en vivienda bajo FHA.
A change to your "no pet" policy (or your fees, or your breed restrictions) that allows a person with a disability to have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy the dwelling. You must grant a reasonable accommodation request unless it would be an "undue financial and administrative burden" or "fundamentally alter" the nature of your housing. Both of those are high bars in practice.Un cambio a tu política de "no mascotas" que permite a una persona con discapacidad usar la vivienda. Debes otorgarla a menos que sea una "carga financiera y administrativa indebida".
The rule turns on whether the disability is "obvious" and whether the animal's function is "obvious." If both are obvious, you cannot ask for anything. If either is not obvious, you may ask for reliable documentation that the person has a disability and needs the animal.La regla depende de si la discapacidad es "obvia" y la función del animal es "obvia". Si ambas son obvias, no puedes pedir nada.
This is where mistakes cost money. The rule is simple even if the practice is tempting:Aquí es donde los errores cuestan dinero. La regla es simple:
No pet deposit. No pet rent. No pet fee. No breed premium. Not before move-in, not at signing, not as a "refundable deposit," not rolled into rent. The assistance animal is not a pet under the law, so pet-related charges cannot apply.Sin depósito. Sin renta de mascota. Sin tarifa. El animal no es mascota bajo la ley.
You can charge the tenant for actual damage the animal causes — after the fact, billed at actual cost. A chewed baseboard, a stained carpet, a scratched door. That's not a pet fee; it's general damage recovery, exactly the same as you'd bill a tenant for damage caused by any other source. You may also require pet-type fees (cleaning, damage deposit) for animals that are not assistance animals.Puedes cobrar por daño real — después, a costo real.
This is the workflow we recommend — tested against actual FHA litigation outcomes, current as of 2026 post-HUD-withdrawal.Este es el flujo recomendado — probado contra litigios FHA reales.
A tenant's request does not need to be on a specific form or use specific words. A text, an email, a handwritten note — all valid. If it's verbal, confirm it in writing yourself within 24 hours ("Confirming our conversation — you've requested accommodation to have an assistance animal. Here's what I'll need...").La solicitud no necesita forma específica. Si es verbal, confírmala por escrito en 24 horas.
If a wheelchair user arrives with a guide dog — obvious on both. You cannot ask for anything. If the request is from someone you cannot visually assess as having a disability, or the animal's connection to a disability is not apparent, you may proceed to ask for documentation.Si la discapacidad y conexión son obvias, no puedes pedir nada.
Request only what you are allowed to request (see above). Do not ask for medical records. A letter from a licensed healthcare professional on letterhead, with license number and jurisdiction, is the gold standard. If the tenant works with TheraPetic® or one of our network providers, you can verify the letter instantly at officialserviceanimal.com.Pide solo lo permitido. Carta de profesional licenciado con número de licencia es el estándar.
You can confirm the licensed professional is actually licensed (state board websites are free and public). You cannot contact the professional to second-guess the diagnosis. You cannot require the tenant to sign a HIPAA release for their medical records. If the letter appears to come from a pay-per-letter website with no actual clinical relationship, the state-by-state law on that is evolving — California, for example, requires a 30-day established clinical relationship.Puedes confirmar que el profesional está licenciado. No puedes cuestionar el diagnóstico.
A delayed response is effectively a denial and courts have treated long silences as FHA violations. Ten business days is our recommended standard — respond with an approval, a request for more information, or a denial with specific reasons. Keep every email, form, and response in the tenant's file.Respuesta por escrito en 10 días hábiles.
Add an assistance animal addendum to the lease. It should confirm: the animal is approved as an assistance animal (not a pet), no pet fees apply, the tenant is responsible for actual damage and for controlling the animal, and the accommodation can be revoked if the animal becomes a direct threat or causes substantial physical damage. Template below.Añade addendum confirmando: aprobado como animal de asistencia, sin tarifas, inquilino responsable de daño real.
After approval, treat the tenant the same as any other. Noise complaints, waste issues, or damage should be documented exactly as with any tenant — dated incident reports, photos, witness statements. These documents become critical if you ever need to revoke the accommodation for cause (see "When things go wrong," below).Tras aprobación, trata al inquilino como a cualquier otro. Documenta quejas y daños.
These are starting points. Run them by your attorney for your jurisdiction — especially post-September 2025 where state law is now doing heavier lifting.Estos son puntos de partida. Revísalos con tu abogado.
Apply your standard animal behavior rules uniformly. An assistance animal can still be subject to the same leash, cleanup, noise, and common-area rules that apply to all animals on the property. What you cannot do is apply a stricter rule to assistance animals than you would to pets — or use the animal's "special status" as an excuse to overlook legitimate violations.Aplica tus reglas de comportamiento uniformemente. El animal está sujeto a las mismas reglas de correa, limpieza y ruido que aplican a todos.
An accommodation can be revoked if the specific animal is a "direct threat to the health or safety of others" or would cause "substantial physical damage to the property." This is an individualized assessment — it cannot be based on fear of a breed or size. Specific history of aggressive behavior against a person, documented through incident reports, is what gets you there.Puede revocarse si el animal específico es "amenaza directa". Evaluación individualizada — no por miedo de raza o tamaño.
Allergies and fears, even medically documented ones, generally do not justify denying an assistance animal accommodation under federal law. In multi-unit buildings, you are expected to seek accommodations for both parties where possible — different floors, different common area schedules, HVAC separation. This is one of the trickier areas and worth legal consultation.Alergias y miedos generalmente no justifican negar la acomodación.
With federal guidance withdrawn, state law is now carrying more weight. Some highlights as of 2026:Con la guía federal retirada, la ley estatal pesa más:
When state law is more protective of the tenant than federal law, state law controls in your jurisdiction. Consult local counsel — the field moved in 2025 and 2026 legislation is still shaking out.Cuando la ley estatal es más protectora, controla.
Every letter issued by our Licensed Clinical Doctors gets a unique verification URL and a 6-character verification code printed on the document itself. You can confirm authenticity in seconds — no phone calls, no HIPAA releases, no wait.Cada carta emitida tiene una URL de verificación única y código de 6 caracteres.
TheraPetic® is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit mental healthcare provider network. We're the best resource in the industry for understanding assistance animal documentation — but we're not your lawyer. For any specific dispute, especially one likely to result in a HUD complaint or litigation, engage counsel licensed in your state. Fair housing attorneys routinely offer free initial consultations.TheraPetic® es una red 501(c)(3). Somos el mejor recurso para documentación — pero no somos tu abogado. Para disputas específicas, consulta asesoría legal.